ATLANTA — The Nationals' long, 10-day road trip enters its final leg tonight here in Atlanta, where the thermometer has been reading triple-digits all afternoon with no signs of cooling down. Into this caldron of fire steps Ross Detwiler, who flew from Colorado to Georgia yesterday and thus didn't get to experience that 11-inning debacle in person.

After asking their relievers to churn out eight innings in that wild game yesterday, the Nationals could desperately use a quality start out of Detwiler, who has reached the seventh inning only once in 10 previous starts this year.

The Nationals could also use a continuation of their offensive explosion from Coors Field. The air here certainly isn't as thin, though the scorching hot temperature should help the ball fly somewhat.

Plenty of updates to come live from Turner Field, so please check back often from the comforts of your air-conditioned living rooms…

What a long, strange trip it's been. Well, not that strange, but I wanted to use the line. :-)Will try to stay up and watch but no guarantees, so I'm happy to hear that our humble scribe is on the scene. Would be nice if Det had a bunch of good innings in him. We'll see. Go, DET! Go, NATS BATS and stay hot!! Agreed re. the throwback night, Mick. We once attended a Nats game in Cleveland where they had one, and it was a fun night. Well, other than the loss that our guys took. It was the debut of Carlos Santana and he had himself a game, as did Fausto Carmona (if memory serves).The Nationals' long, 10-day road trip enters its final leg tonight here in Atlanta, where the thermometer has been reading triple-digits all afternoon with no signs of cooling down.

I still like BH in RF. In CF he's the de facto captain of the outfield. And he's a 19 year old rooking. Puts a lot of heat on him, and puts him in the spotlight all the time.But hey: play ball. Let's go.

Most of you will be watching this game with the a/c cranked up, but my daughter and I will be sweating it out decked out in red and our Nats road caps about 6 rows behind the Nats dugout. You just can't predict the weather when you plan a road trip! Go Ross. Hope the bats stay hot in very Hot 'Lanta! Go Nats!

I'll be away this weekend, but will be following the games in a variety of ways, particularly by periodically checking out Mark's updates and the comments here.Enjoyed your blog post NL. You make a good argument, but I still think Davey should have used the very well rested Clipp (he hasn't pitched since Saturday!) yesterday. Not in the 11th instead of letting Stammen go 3 innings, but in the 9th, before Stammen came in. Depending on how quickly that inning went, he could have let Clipp pitch the 10th too, either to close out the win, or to keep the Nats' hopes alive. That would have left Stammen as the last man standing (assuming CMW was not really going to pitch despite doing some throwing), and he might have been pitching for the first time in the 11th. As it was, if Stammen had succeeded in getting out of the jam, Clipp would have had to throw the next inning and go as long as necessary. If Davey was saving Clipp for the Braves series, that was a pretty big risk to take. Nonetheless, the percentages you calculated are interesting. That's alot of walkoff wins! Still, to keep our best reliever who hadn't pitched in nearly a week on the bench was a mistake in my opinion.

Most of you will be watching this game with the a/c cranked up, but my daughter and I will be sweating it out decked out in red and our Nats road caps about 6 rows behind the Nats dugout. You just can't predict the weather when you plan a road trip! You can always chill down with the King of Pops fresh homemade popsicle or a trip to the Wrecking Ball Brew Pub and restaurant.

People who argue that Clippard should be anointed as the closer should be prepared to see him used like a closer. Closers pitch the ninth inning at home if their team is ahead or tied. On the road in the ninth inning or later they don't pitch until their team has the lead and there is a save opportunity. The only exception is if there are no other available pitchers left in the bullpen. Davey was using Clippard yesterday as his closer. Isn't that what you have been clamoring for?

I remember when The Beast hit righties better than lefties, and Uncle Jimmy still platooned him.Are we talking the same thing about Davey doing this with TyMo?? Or are we just giving Lombo some time in the lineup, and TyMo a break??

Peric said: "Tis the season to be traded … tralatralatralalala."I take your meaning to be that Lombo is playing in order to be showcased for somebody. Is that right? That would make sense to me, but to whom and for whom? I'd be interested in your always informed speculation.

See that's were we disagree. Your closer is usually your best relieved, and should be used in high leverage situations, not just save situations. If the game rests in the balance in the seventh or eleventh innings, use your best pitcher/closer. Why would you keep your best bullet to fire in the bullpen? You can't save him for a situation that never arises, you have to use him when the game rests in the balance to ensure yourself a chance to win it later. In this case, especially when the rockies had the bases loaded, clippard should have been pitching

One coda to my comment on NL's blog post, which really is worth a read. A tie game may be a losing cause statistically, but it's certainly not a lost cause. 46% of extra innings games are won by the home team in the NL. That makes this situation a lot different than a blowout game, one way or the other, as far as the importance of using your best reliever. And I'll bet the percentage is higher for extra innings games where the away team is in 1st place in its division and the home team is in last place in its division. And maybe, just maybe, the away team's chance of winning would increase even more if it didn't save it's best reliever for a save opportunity that might never come. I wonder if Davey decided that Stammen was in for the duration regardless of what happened in the 11th. Maybe he just wanted Clipp fresh for the weekend. Here's hoping we need him tonight!

SM13.. We will be watching for you and your daughter!!! Make sure you are loud and represent us well!!!I Think that for those of you outside the DC Area you can get the Game on MLB Network too. They are promoting it as the Friday Night game.

People who argue that Clippard should be anointed as the closer should be prepared to see him used like a closer. Closers pitch the ninth inning at home if their team is ahead or tied. On the road in the ninth inning or later they don't pitch until their team has the lead and there is a save opportunity. The only exception is if there are no other available pitchers left in the bullpen. Davey was using Clippard yesterday as his closer. Isn't that what you have been clamoring for?Speaking only for myself — No. I called for Clipp to keep his closer role when Storen returns, at least for awhile. And I certainly don't buy in to any hard and fast rule about the use of closers either at home or on the road. Do you? That's what we're discussing here.

222, I agree if he was going to use Clip it would have to be the 9th and 10th, not the 11th and presumably 12th. Actually, FW, agree Davey is using Clip as the closer. The question is whether that is the best way to use a closer.

And, no, I wasn't among those clamoring for Clip to be the "closer." Clip wanted it, and he's certainly succeeding at it, so good for him and the team.There are two questions:(1) Is Clippard the best choice for the closer job as currently "defined" and used. In other words, should your best reliever be your "closer." (I've always voted "no" on that, because as I see it, closing is easier than the "stopper" job–but the stopper doesn't get paid as well.)(2) Should you have a closer at all–meaning a single pitcher who, unless he isn't available, starts all ninth innings at home if they are in tied or "save" situations (with possibly some 4 or 5-out saves) and all save situations away from home?

The way Davey structures his bullpen there are a lot of possibilities given that Davey tries to keep his bullpen from being overworked. Thus Stammen in extra innings for three. Clippard, Storen, Mattheus, H-Rod, and Burnett are all capable of closing. Looks like Christian Garcia would be next in line from AAA. Who gets to close the most on a regular basis depends on who is the most consistent in tight situations. The first three have been quite consistent over time and have plus-plus power arms.

I take your meaning to be that Lombo is playing in order to be showcased for somebody. Is that right? That would make sense to me, but to whom and for whom? I'd be interested in your always informed speculation.Who has scouts in Atlanta? Be curious to learn that Milwaukee does. At this point I think Moore has earned the LF job and then some. Or he's at first base. Someone has to move and it could be Lombo and LaRoche. Both are left-handed bats. Corey Brown is raking, absolutely scorching the IL league in AAA ala Michael Morse in 2009. And unlike Mike Mo Corey is a superlative fielder.The silly baseball talking heads keep pushing CF, Bourn, Span because the Nats FO isn't happy with Harper in CF. Everytime they ask Davey he seems okay with it? And last I looked Davey was the one who got Desmond his shortstop job over Guzman … so Davey is going to decide who plays in CF. Perhaps the unknown source they quote is legit but I would hazard that said source is way far down in the pecking order and perhaps likes to play armchair GM and manager as much as folks here do … ~smiles~But, if I'm Mike Rizzo and Roy Clark? I've got two top pitchers on the DL in Purke and Solis. I've got one power pitcher who might just be the 12th round sleeper everyone thought he might be (Nate Karns), and theres Alex Meyer who is slowly learning the ropes and perhaps growing beyond 6'9"! Plus Robbie Ray who is struggling a bit in Potomac. Giolito might or might not sign. They really need him to sign but they can't offer him the $$ these other guys got and he can always go to college first.So, I'm thinking top of the rotation starting pitching in the form of Zach Grienke : trade plus extension. That improves Rizzo and Clark's club dramatically both for this year (given the loss of Strasburg) and definitely next year and beyond. Potentially a better rotation than the one Davey Johnson played behind in Baltimore. Way better.

So, Peric, you're suggesting trading Lombo, LaRoche and one of our Minor league arms for Grienke with an extension (a la Gio). Is that right?That presumably puts Moore on First and an outfield of Morse, Harper and (eventually) Werth, with Brown coming up to fill in until Werth gets back and in the process let management see if he's as good as his boosters, yourself prominently included, think he is.

I certainly don't buy in to any hard and fast rule about the use of closers either at home or on the road. Do you? That's what we're discussing here.Yes. If you're going to call someone a closer, that's how you use him. In extra innings on the road, if you burn your closer and then get the lead, you still have to get the home team out in the last inning. That's the job you have reserved for your closer. At home, the situation is different when you reach the ninth inning with a tie score, because you know there can never be a save situation in that game. Therefore you can burn your closer if you want to, knowing that you won't need him later in the game.It's easy to say that there may be other situations in the game that are higher leverage than the save situation, and indeed there often are. But you never know that until the game is over. So you can't anoint a pitcher as your guy for the highest-leverage situation there might be, because you can never be sure when that situation will be. That can't be a "role" that you bestow on someone, because calling something a role implies that there are rules behind it that define what the role is.

I'm inclined to agree with Feel Wood (and Davey on this). Davey says guys like "roles." That seems logical to me. If you know that you are going to pitch the 8th inning, then I would expect that along about the 6th you are getting mentally focused, reviewing in your mind the hitters you are likely to see (and the plan you are going to execute). Yes, in theory, you could swap Burnett and Clip depending on who is up in which inning, but they are both excellent and neither has a platoon split, so the advantage would, IMO, be marginal and not worth disturbing whatever warmup routine those two pitchers have. Tony LaRussa was on Baseball Today this afternoon discussing the evolution of the bullpen into "specialists" for the 7-8-9 innings versus previously letting a starter who was worn out continue. Part of his reasoning is that hitters see guys they haven't seen before, who are fresh, strong arms. We see how many starters have trouble on the third (or fourth) time through the lineup. I think what you are seeing is improvement in bullpen/starter management, not managing to the "save" statistic.

Bat Moore at leadoff. His OBP is .413 for crying out loud! Does Davey require that the lead off batter have speed? Moore's stolen 3 bases in 24 games.Or, as it seems to be the case, does Davey require the batter to have a terrible OBP?As much as I like Lombo, he's been awful for the last month. His OBP is down to .320 (hasn't stolen a base yet, I might add), and is batting .150/.215/.233 in June!DAVEY, GO WITH WHAT IS WORKING. Right now, Tyler Moore is working. So put him wherever he fits. Don't tweak everything, just because Moore isn't your typical leadoff hitter!

So Fish Vs Phillies: Do we hope for another Cliff Lee loss and another nail in the coffin? Or do we hope for an implosion of Epic Proportions by the Fish just so we could see Ozzie's head will explode?

More from the organist:Matthew Kaminski ‏@bravesorganist#Braves vs #Nats – ok, I'll also play the circus gladiator song for HarperHere is his plan:The Gambler and Friends for DetwilerStairway to Heaven and Flowers on the Wall for FloresDanny Boy for EspinozaOb La Di for Desmondsome morse code for morseLa Cucaracha for LaRocheLay Lady Lay for ZimmermanSend in the Clowns for HarperPaparozzi and Iron Man and War Pigs for Lombardozzi

Been meaning to ask this for quite awhile, what is that thing Detwiler is wearing around his neck and what is the purpose of it? I've noticed that others like Clippard, Brunett and I think Storen also wear something like that.

Anybody else read the Keith Law article today that said Lowrie has been the best hitting shortstop in the NL this year. I have never hated anybody that loves baseball in my life. Keith Law challenges that notion with every new article.

BTW, one of my biggest complaints when the Nats play the Braves, home or away, is that I get blacked out from MASN and have to watch the game on the braves TV network. As much as people complain abot Bob C. and FP let me tell you Chip carey may well be the most boring play by play guy in major league baseball. I mean I rather listen to paint dry!

Don't know if this was available to you in Washington or not but, for the Colorado series, we had our choice of MASN or the Rockies TV feed here in Toronto. Gotta tell you their announcers are superior. Very knowledgeable, non-partisan for the most part and I learned more about the Nats listening to them than I ever do with FP etc. Truly great.

Thanks for the weather heads-up. Looking at the radar now, there's a big line of storms from about Pittsburgh to Harrisburg, and south to past Roanoke. Should get here sometime after 10-10:30, I reckon, but points west/north will get it sooner than DC itself, of course.

Watching Detwiler pitch is like playing Super Mario Brothers back in the day. Every time he becomes a starter again is like a Mario life. He gets a little closer and closer to rescuing Princess Toadstool from Bowser every starting stint. Hopefully he can do it one day.

If we lose, this is a bad loss, like I said a week ago, I bet we are in 3rd by All star break and only 6 games over 500. I have a bad feeling and I think Davey and Cat at times as no feel on the pitchers, after teh balk, it was clear Det was going to choke

Detwiler was a victim of his own dominance tonight. Seemingly in cruise control with a 4-run lead…real tough lesson.Had a feeling that missed opportunity by Zimmerman to get the fifth run in with less than 2 outs could come back to haunt us.

Johnson has absolutely no ability to determine when a pitcher doesn't have it or has lost it. He clearly stayed way to long with Jackson yesterday and ended up down 7-0 after two innings and he clearly stayed with Detwiler too long tonight. Johnson has had this problem all season long and it is very damaging. How many times did he stay with H-Rod when he clearly had nothing? He allowed H-Rod to blow 4 leads in the ninth inning.

phil dunton said…Johnson has absolutely no ability to determine when a pitcher doesn't have it or has lost it.I said that last season too. I think he is a very coach, in all other areas but with his pitchers, he is CLUELESS

Sigh. It's very hot, and Ross is clearly tired. Hindsight is 20-20, but in this case even the fan base knew Ross needed to come out long before that pitch. With Clipp and Burnett rested for the entire Rox series, it was not a stretch to get someone ready in the 7th. However, it's one more learning opportunity for a young pitcher. Let's pull out a win Nats!

I dunno, I think maybe they're right, there is no way this team can succeed. The fifth starter can't go past six innings when it's 100 degrees. The second and fourth catchers are still leaving small pieces of cover on the ball most of their at-bats, and now Morse and Zimmerman are barely getting hits in half their plate appearances. They're only in first by three and a half games, fixing to make it four and a half if they can hold this one, while the 102-win Phillies juggernaut is breathing down their necks, the Marlins are poised to make their big move into not-last-place, and the Miracle Mets are, miraculously, still over .500. Doomed, I tellya! Doomed!

Eagle has convinced me–converted, even. Laugh at these silly people, it's a lot more fun. There's about half a dozen, and then three or so more that are the same guy, and really, they aren't hurting anything but their own liver, which is none of my business. ******************************************************************Weather update: the line of really nasty stuff is about at DC, on a line from about Harrisburg to south of Lynchburg, with the worst on the north half. Batten down within the next half hour if you're in that area. And don't be touching plugged-in stuff in a lightning storm.

Davey is not stupid or clueless, guys. He has a tendency this year to be a little greedy with the pitching staff…but he seems to be very confident that this is a playoff team, so he seems content to let certain guys try to figure things out so they can contribute down the stretch.

that was brilliant! I am glad I am not making decisions. With Burnett getting job done, bullpen is saved a lot more work than needed. If we are going to blame Davey for sticking with HRod too long, then we should also give him credit for using other guys as brilliantly as he has done.Michele, let's hope that defense or even their offense is not needed for rest of the game.

Hey NatsJack-I am just as big of a fan as you are buddy. Just because I don't wear my uniform to the local bar every night doesn't mean I am not a fan. Nats Woo!!! BTW…nice call on the EJAX outing yesterday.

OK, not wonderfully happy with Ross (or with Davey leaving him in there to learn), but Davey did the right thing putting Ankiel out there, knowing Clipp is a flyball pitcher. Love the way this team weathers the storms!!!

The front is passing through and the power went on and off for a couple of minutes, then was gone for good. Gonna get pretty hot here in Silver Spring tonight but I'll sleep cozy knowing we have the best record in the NL.

Catching up…Hey Soul Possession, if you think the season is over and the Nats are already in the World Series, there's something in your drinking water!Water??!! Who put water in my drinking water?Well, you may have a point. I've started putting words in people's mouths. I'm afraid to enjoy the team winning. Oh, wait, that wasn't me. Nevermind.